Location: Orient Harbor, Long Island, NY
This morning, I woke up the crew to the classic `’Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham! Everyone rolled out of bed, a little sleepy from last night’s anchor watch rotations, to eat breakfast. Then, we divided into our watch teams to walk through boat check, a checkup on all the boat’s major systems done each hour while underway to make sure everything is in order. We put on our foulies (foul weather gear) to brave against the wind as Lolo taught us how to make sure everything on deck is as it should be. We learned all the checkpoints in the chart house and engine room from Brahm, and we saw all the important parts of the boat check-in the salon, galley, and up forward from Amanda. After a tasty lunch, we dove right into our first lectures in Seamanship and Marine Biology, learning basic boat terminology and the history of marine science. In the afternoon, despite the cold, we all decided to put on our bathing suits and jump into the water. It was absolutely freezing but totally worth it. We completed our swim tests (three laps around Argo and 10 minutes treading water), then dried on the deck while listening to music. Lolo and I did a quick scuba dive to clean the propeller, where we met lots of comb jellies. Finally, we closed out the amazing day with Shepherd’s Pie for dinner and a beautiful sunset.
Pictured: Lolo walking Watch Team Three through boat check, Jake being interrupted while decky-ing, the sunset in Orient Harbor, Long Island, a crew selfie, crew members fixing some rigging, some of the boys before braving the water, Marion and I’s seamanship notes, and the crew enjoying dinner and the sunset.